Day 8 – The Pig Trail, Arkansas Barbecue and the Search for Memphis Blues

After a good night’s sleep, Ro and I woke up refreshed and ready for another day on the road.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Liddy and Mikey.

The piano bar across from our accommodation had apparently decided that 2am was a perfectly reasonable finishing time, which meant they effectively had live music piped directly into their bedroom for half the night. While Ro and I slept peacefully, the other two were treated to an extended late-night concert they hadn’t actually purchased tickets for.

Before leaving Fayetteville, we wandered down to the town square market.

The Fayetteville Farmers Market has been operating for decades and is one of the more popular community events in northwest Arkansas. It was a great little stop, with local produce, food stalls, crafts and, most importantly, coffee.

Proper coffee.

Not “house brew” coffee.

Actual coffee.

Combined with a fresh pastry, it was exactly the start to the day we needed.

Eventually we loaded ourselves back into the Smoke Wagon and pointed it east towards Memphis.

Rather than taking the quickest route, we decided to tackle the famous Pig Trail Scenic Byway through the Ozark Mountains.

The Pig Trail is one of Arkansas’s best-known drives, winding its way through the Ozark National Forest with sweeping mountain views, thick forests, deep valleys and more corners than seems entirely necessary. The road gets its name from the Arkansas Razorbacks, whose mascot is, of course, a pig. It’s a favourite with motorcyclists, sports car drivers and anyone who enjoys roads that require more than occasional attention.

Unfortunately, it rained for the entire drive.

Instead of sweeping mountain views and dramatic scenery, we were treated to misty hills, low cloud and visibility that ranged from poor to occasionally non-existent. While we could tell the road itself would have been a fantastic drive in better weather, most of the Ozarks remained hidden behind a curtain of rain for the duration of the journey.

Around lunchtime we arrived in Conway and stopped at Almost Famous Smokehouse & Grill.

The meal was exactly what we’d hoped for. Catfish and gumbo. By this point we’ve become surprisingly critical barbecue judges so this a bit outside the range, but the food was not bad and made for a very worthwhile stop.

Suitably fed, we continued east across Arkansas with me behind the wheel on the Smoke Wagon while Liddy supervised from the back seat like a VicRoads licence tester, carefully monitoring every lane change, indicator and driving decision. Despite the added scrutiny, I must have passed the appraisal and we eventually rolled safely into Memphis at around 4pm.

Our home for the next two nights would be the Hyatt Centric on Beale Street, conveniently located within easy walking distance of most of the important Memphis attractions, namely barbecue, blues bars and more barbecue.

After a quick shower and a brief period of pretending to rest, we made a detour to the historic Peabody Hotel to watch the famous Peabody Ducks.

See them here

Every day the hotel's resident ducks make their ceremonial march to and from the lobby fountain, accompanied by a red carpet, a marching tune and a surprisingly enthusiastic crowd.

We'd heard about it on a podcast we were listening to on the drive to Memphis and figured it was one of those wonderfully quirky traditions that had to be seen.

The ducks, to their credit, handled the attention like seasoned celebrities. They waddled confidently through the lobby while dozens of tourists jostled for photos and videos. The whole thing lasted only a few minutes, but there was something delightfully ridiculous and charming about an elegant grand hotel stopping everything so a group of ducks could make their daily appearance.

Having now witnessed one of Memphis's most unusual attractions, we headed straight for Beale Street.

The plan was simple.

Secure our position at Blues City Cafe early.

We arrived around 5pm expecting enormous crowds, standing room only and fierce competition for seats once the music started.

As it turned out, we may have overplanned slightly.

We secured a great table, ordered a few drinks, picked at some bbq snacks (not the whole hog) and settled in for the evening. To pass the time, we broke out a game of canasta. We decided to swap partners around, which added a surprising amount of spice and competitiveness to proceedings. As the clock ticked closer to 8pm, however, it became increasingly obvious that the predicted hordes were not arriving.

There were still plenty of seats available and nobody seemed particularly stressed about finding a spot.

Perhaps it was the wrong night.

Perhaps we’d read too many internet reviews.

Either way, we’d successfully beaten a crowd that never really showed up.

When the music started, it wasn’t quite the style of blues we’d been hoping for. The band was good, but it wasn’t scratching the itch we’d come to Memphis to satisfy.

So we did what any sensible group would do.

We finished our drinks and set off in search of something a little closer to the classic Memphis blues experience we’d imagined all the way back in Fayetteville that morning.

To do that, we first had to re-enter the Beale Street entertainment district through one of the controlled access points. By then the precinct had been fenced off for the evening, with everyone required to show identification before being allowed back in.

Once inside, we found ourselves on a livelier stretch of Beale Street, which felt more like a street festival than a normal night out. Music spilled from open doorways, crowds drifted between venues and the whole area buzzed with energy. One thing that stood out immediately was the sheer number of police officers and National Guard personnel throughout the district.

Given modern security concerns it was understandable, but the scale of the security presence was hard to miss.

Our next stop was Tin Roof. Again, good atmosphere, plenty of people and plenty of music, but still not quite the blues experience we had imagined when planning a pilgrimage to Memphis.

At that point, Ro and I decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

Liddy and Mikey, however, were just getting started.

They continued their quest for authentic Memphis blues and eventually landed at Rum Boogie Cafe, where they found exactly what they’d been looking for. A great blues band, a lively crowd and a couple of hours of excellent music rounded out their evening before they finally made their way back to the hotel.

And so ended another day on the Barbecue Road Trip.

Tomorrow we’ll explore Memphis properly and see whether the city can live up to its legendary reputation.

See y’all tomorrow 👋